Battera's supply transport airship arrived at Meteor Street on the third day. The supplies were packed in massive cargo containers and dropped straight from the sky—just like all the other garbage-dumping airships.
The only difference was the landing spot.
This time, they weren't dropped onto the garbage heaps but onto a clear patch of land nearby.
Cyr looked at the large cargo boxes, then glanced at the ugly creature clinging to him. He fell into deep thought.
The boxes were a bit too big. That dumb-looking thing's mouth probably couldn't fit one… but then again, it was a cursed spirit. If it really tried to tear and shove…
He tilted his head slightly and locked eyes with the creature clinging to his shoulder, whose entire face practically screamed: [Low Intelligence / Easy to Fool / Dumbass].
"…Daddy…?" the dumb spirit gurgled, mouth agape.
After being beaten multiple times, it had finally learned to stop calling him "Mommy" and switched to "Daddy."
Most of the time, it was very well-behaved—just silently clinging to Cyr like an accessory, barely moving, almost indistinguishable from a decoration.
"Yeah." Cyr patted his precious son's head and casually pointed at the crates.
"Go on. Swallow them all."
The ugly one stared blankly for a long while, clearly failing to understand. It didn't move an inch.
The level of stupidity… really left one speechless.
Cyr sighed and pulled the creature off himself with some resignation, manually stuffing items into its mouth.
"Gulugulu…"
"…Gluu…"
"Open your mouth wider—just a little more. Almost there."
"Good boy, good boy."
He kept saying things like that, but his hands never stopped moving. It took more than half the day, but he finally managed to cram all the supplies into the cursed spirit's mouth.
During all this, Pampas and Syd just stood to the side, watching silently—witnessing each item vanish into thin air… or rather, into something they couldn't see.
"All done. Time to go." Cyr stopped and, seeing the cursed spirit looking utterly drained, casually picked it up and slung it back onto his shoulder.
The storage curse wasn't just some dumb cursed creature—it was literally everything Cyr owned.
"…" Pampas looked at the now-empty plot of land that had been stacked with supplies and felt genuine regret.
He'd been hoping that if Cyr couldn't carry it all, some might be left behind for Meteor Street.
Free supplies? Why pay when you could loot? What a waste.
"Let's hope your name doesn't show up on NGL's official bounty list," Syd said coolly.
It sounded like both a reminder and a warning.
Cyr suddenly missed that honest guy from before—the one who practically would've stripped down to his underwear just to help him.
He felt the urge to pull a card from his deck—but resisted his more twisted urges.
"Bye-bye." He waved lazily, then leapt into the air and boarded the waiting airship above.
The white tiger pranced about in midair, showing off. Then it looked down at Maro on the ground, its tiger face practically oozing smug satisfaction.
"Idiot." Maro muttered, controlling steam to freeze into ice, using nen to hold the blocks steady as he forced them into an upward staircase.
As the airship left Meteor Street, Pampas retracted his gaze and turned toward the shadows cast by a nearby corner of the building.
"Now they'll finally dare to sleep, right?" Cyr said softly to Syd, a teasing note in his voice.
"Them dropping dead from panic attacks would probably benefit you more," Syd replied, arms crossed.
Good friends always knew each other too well.
"How could you say that?" Pampas smiled, denying it with practiced ease.
---
The Autonomous Republic of NGL was located by the sea, out on the edge of the world. Its borders were guarded with strict checkpoints.
"According to NGL law, our airship isn't allowed to enter," Maro reported quietly.
It was a country where you weren't even allowed to bring a phone in. You had to buy and wear clothes produced locally and undergo all sorts of inspections. Even people with dental fillings weren't permitted to enter.
If they wanted to enter through official channels, they'd have to abandon the airship.
If they tried to sneak in, they'd be arrested—and executed.
A journalist once smuggled themselves in, and upon capture, was promptly put to death.
"NGL... is one of the world's biggest drug production and export zones," Maro added in a low voice.
This was something only a very few people knew.
Like top crime syndicates, or upper brass from the five great nations.
Maro had only learned about it after inheriting some of Perisha's affairs—information passed down from his own father.
NGL, though it maintained a closed-off, traditionalist facade, was secretly running a massive drug operation. Through connections with the mafia and high-level national actors, those drugs were funneled out across the globe.
Meteor Street was one of the biggest hubs.
So was Youkshin.
That's why the journalists who infiltrated were immediately executed—because they might've seen something they shouldn't have.
---
"...No way I'm going through border inspection," Cyr said, eyeing the two enormous trees down below.
Inside the hollowed trunks was a space used to house computers—the immigration screening center of NGL.
Here, not only did they scan you with machines, but you had to strip down for manual inspections. They might even get handsy.
"From shadow born, to shadow returned. All filth and impurity, be cleansed." Cyr recited, casting a barrier that enveloped the entire airship.
"We're smuggling in. Simple as that." He made the decision without a second thought.
Even if they were caught, who knew if NGL would even exist much longer?
Actually, they might not even be discovered at all…
After all, NGL had no communication infrastructure. It was isolated and outdated.
So how the hell did they ever catch people sneaking in to begin with?
He parked the airship in a secluded corner and left the barrier intact.
Otherwise, a futuristic airship popping up in a backwater village would stick out like a sore thumb—even a fool could see something was off.
Abandoning the ship, they traveled light.
All around were square fields and ditches. Most homes were made of straw and wooden boards.
No high-rises. Looked like a plain old countryside town—actually, worse than most Cyr had seen.
At least the villages he'd visited had nice self-built homes. Some of them were more comfortable than living in the city.
"I think I get why people trying to sneak in here get caught," Cyr said thoughtfully, stroking his chin.
Even in the villages he'd been to, the difference in vibe between rural and urban folks wasn't that extreme.
But this place… there was no comparison.
It was like a bunch of sharply dressed city people suddenly showed up in the middle of a remote mountain village.
The contrast was insane. People would definitely stare.
But… that wasn't something they had to worry about now.
Because on their walk so far, they hadn't seen a single soul.
Tools were scattered around like people had been working one moment and vanished the next.
Like the entire population had up and migrated…
Or just… disappeared.
"How many people do you think are still alive in NGL?" Cyr asked Maro, still holding his chin.
Given the Chimera Ants' feeding and breeding speed, it was perfectly reasonable to assume they could've wiped out everyone in NGL within a month or two.
"...I don't know." Maro shook his head, choosing not to speculate.
"Probably not many. Which is why the ants are looking to expand," Cyr said, analyzing calmly.
Once they've eaten through the humans here, they'll move on to the next place. There'll always be more people to eat.
It's just like those interstellar insect species—consume all resources, leave the planet ruined.
"Looks like they're starving." Cyr suddenly looked up at the sky.
A swarm of bug-like figures, like massive locusts, buzzed into view over the horizon.
Their green skin made them look like goblins, and they were all hideous—classic cannon fodder material.
"Ultra Rare Specimen!"
"We actually found one——!"
They shouted as they dove from the sky.
Bulging eyes full of cruel excitement and ravenous greed.
"Idiots never know their place," Cyr sighed.
"Trash." He raised a hand and slashed diagonally downward.
The black swarm in the sky dropped to the ground like dead insects—piles of them.
If you already know I'm an Ultra Rare Specimen,
then obviously I'm not someone your trash-tier selves can even dream of touching.
Idiots.
"Beep—beep—"
A call alert rang.
Maro took out his phone and glanced down, then looked toward the white-haired teen.
"Sir, it's Gon Freecss."
He always used their full names, keeping it formal when referring to Killua and Gon.
"So they've finished the game too, huh." Cyr nodded.
"No need to answer."
There wasn't really anything to talk about anyway. The only reason he had Maro call them in the first place was to see if they were still playing or not.
Now that the result was clear, there was even less need to say anything.
Maro nodded while silencing the call notification.
"Based on ant colony behavior, the ones we just saw were likely equivalent to worker ants…" Cyr analyzed the Chimera Ants' behavior.
They were still quite similar to regular ants—but far more dangerous.
"But the Chimera Ants' threat level is only B…" Cyr recalled what he'd seen earlier on the Hunter website.
Was it because Chimera Ants in the past had never eaten humans?
Otherwise, with their diet primarily being humans, plus their general omnivorousness, enormous appetite, rapid reproduction, and the ability to grow stronger through what they consume—even potentially evolve—shouldn't a species with world-ending potential be ranked higher than just B?
Then again, if placed in the Dark Continent, B-level might actually be pretty fair.
The Dark Continent likely housed many creatures far stronger than Chimera Ants.
Still, not all of them could be bottom-tier cannon fodder, right? There had to be stronger ones among the ants.
Cyr focused, using his Six Eyes to sense life energy—he detected a group gathered in one area, their auras incredibly vibrant, far beyond that of normal humans.
Among them… two familiar life signals.
"Looks like something fun is happening over there…" The white-haired, blue-eyed boy looked off into the distance.
Maro and Sora also tried looking in the same direction, attempting to glimpse whatever he had sensed.
"You two, stay back," Cyr waved them off.
"I've found something interesting. Let's see if I can lure that one over here."
Maro and Sora were too weak—if things got intense, they could easily end up dead.
"Understood. Please enjoy yourself. Don't worry about us," Maro said respectfully, dragging Sora away by the ear.
Cyr, on the other hand, casually strolled in a particular direction, leisurely releasing his aura.
A hundred-meter radius En, with no effort to hide his presence—he let his power flare boldly, deliberately making himself known.
The fisherman had cast the line. Now he just had to wait for the fish to bite.
—
A figure with short, wavy white hair, triangular ears, and a fluffy tail suddenly turned to look.
As if through the dense forest, they saw that irresistible presence hidden within.
This feeling… a human… strong one.
"He can definitely show me how strong I truly am." Neferpitou grinned in delight.
Her fellow ants were too weak—none of them could give her a true measure of her own strength.
She was far too powerful compared to her peers. So powerful, in fact, she'd always wondered—
Just how strong was she, really?
At this point, watching her weaker companions struggle to master their abilities held no interest for her.
Her entire mind was focused on that strong presence—so blatant, so intense—and yet her fellow ants didn't even notice it.
She stepped outside.
"Where are you going?" another ant asked curiously.
"To find out how strong I really am," Neferpitou replied. She exited the cave, scaling the outer walls of the nest, her red eyes scanning excitedly for her target.
"Found you." She pushed off with her legs, muscles bulging—and in the blink of an eye, she broke the sound barrier, rocketing forward.
"She's here." The boy, who had been waiting for quite some time, curled his lips into a smirk. His once indifferent face now brimmed with deadly aggression.
The toy he'd been waiting to play with had finally delivered itself right to his doorstep.
"Boom—" A swift and powerful attack slammed down—but it didn't land as Neferpitou expected. It struck an invisible barrier and was stopped cold.
The clash generated a shockwave, and Neferpitou used it to push herself back, twisting in midair three times before landing in a crouch.
"Weird… how did you block that?" she asked, pure curiosity on her face—she didn't view the human boy as an enemy at all.
She only wanted to know what technique he'd used.
She stared at the first human strong enough to give her that indescribable feeling.
White hair. Blue eyes. Strange black markings on his skin.
Honestly, he didn't even seem human—he looked more like someone from the same place as the Chimera Ants.
"Hard to guess?" The white-haired boy raised an eyebrow, his expression arrogant and eyes filled with contempt.
"Because you—"
He spoke slowly.
"—are just too weak."
Neferpitou stared at him—and suddenly, from deep inside, a powerful and unfamiliar emotion surged up.
Her crimson eyes glowed brighter, red like freshly spilled blood.
Her smile widened uncontrollably as she locked onto the boy like he was a prized possession she absolutely had to claim.
Anger? No, she wasn't angry.
But at that moment, her desire to kill the boy was more intense than anything she'd ever felt before.
So good, so good, so good!
Her smile beamed with unknowing madness. She crouched low, arms hanging naturally.
And then, in an instant, she lunged again, disappearing from sight, launching another attack.
°°°
If you want to read ahead and access 20 advanced chapters, check the patreon
Link: Patreon/Moziel